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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Alan Weber May 21, 2001 Local Non-Profit Awarded $3.6 Million Grant on Food and Agriculture Columbia, Mo. -- The Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute, a non-profit education and research center based in Columbia, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grant, for $3.6 million, is to fund a five-year program of national fellowships in food and agriculture. With the grant funding, the Jefferson Institute will train and support approximately 40 to 50 fellowship recipients from across the nation in communicating to the public on food and agriculture issues. "We are excited about the opportunity to help outstanding leaders in agriculture communicate about the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable food production in the U.S. today," said Dr. Rob Myers, executive director of the Jefferson Institute. "We face a great many issues about how to produce healthy food in an environmentally sound way, while helping keep family farmers in business and supporting rural communities." The Jefferson Institute was founded in Columbia in 1997, and provides educational programs to farmers and others across Missouri on crop diversification and other aspects of improving agricultural sustainability. The Institute has partnered with University of Missouri for many of its activities, and has received federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies to support its work in assisting farmers and rural communities. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is the largest private source of foundation funds for food and agriculture projects in the U.S. The foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." Besides funding food and agriculture projects, the foundation also funds youth and education projects. To apply for a fellowship, please see the fellowship application guidelines.
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